The long-running trial of socialite Fred Ajudua before Justice M.A. Dada of the Special Offences Court, Ikeja, Lagos, took a new turn on Friday, October 10, 2025, as the defendant withdrew a motion earlier filed before the Supreme Court.
Ajudua, who is facing trial for allegedly defrauding a Palestinian businessman, Zad Abu Zalaf, of $1,043,000 (One Million, Forty-Three Thousand Dollars), informed the court through his counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, that he had filed a notice of withdrawal at the apex court on August 22, 2025. The motion had initially been filed on June 24, 2025.
According to Ojo, the withdrawal was to pave the way for the Special Offences Court to deliver its pending ruling on Ajudua’s bail application, which had been stalled due to the earlier appeal before the Supreme Court.
“We decided to withdraw the motion we filed at the Supreme Court to allow this Honourable Court to deliver its ruling on the bail application,”
Ojo told the court, while submitting an affidavit and a copy of the withdrawal notice as evidence.
He further noted that his client, who is reportedly battling chronic kidney disease and severe hypertension, insisted on attending the proceedings in compliance with his legal undertakings.
However, prosecution counsel Seidu Atteh opposed the request for an immediate ruling on the bail application, arguing that the court should await a formal pronouncement from the Supreme Court confirming the withdrawal.
“When you file a motion before the court, it is given a number. The applicant has the right to withdraw, but they must wait for a Supreme Court ruling,”
Atteh said.
He also confirmed that the prosecution had filed a counter-affidavit and written address on September 26, 2025, in opposition to the bail request.
The proceedings continued with the cross-examination of the third prosecution witness, Afanda Bashir Emmanuel, an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Emmanuel testified that he first met Ajudua in 2005, shortly after the establishment of the EFCC, and that the defendant’s case file had been transferred from the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Nigerian Police Force to the EFCC’s Advance Fee Fraud Section.
He stated that the EFCC reached out to several institutions—including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and the Commission’s forensic laboratory—as part of its investigation.
The witness confirmed interviewing both Zad Abu Zalaf and Michel Opkema, and visiting Ajudua at the Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison, where he documented the interaction. He added that Ajudua’s earlier statements to the police formed part of the EFCC’s investigation records.
Following the testimony, Justice Dada adjourned the matter to October 31, 2025, for continuation of trial.
